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Bring Back Kirk Newsletter -- Issue #44 -- Tuesday, May 15, 2001
The OFFICIAL Newsletter of the Official Bring Back Kirk Movement
www.bringbackkirk.com | www.bringbackkirk.com/UK |
www.bringbackkirk.com/germany
Recognized as an Official Movement by: www.shatner.com
And Very Special Accolades to: stgn.strek.com | treknation.com/syfyworld
| www.1701b.com
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SOME WORDS FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Short and sweet: I’m holding off on the new flyer design, mainly due to
the fact that I want to include information on how to obtain a Bring
Back Kirk CD. (This information is located below the news section and
is currently in the so-called “research and pre-development” phase).
There is also an idea about possibly including information about
subscribing to an offline, monthly edition of the BBKN as well. In the
meantime, I’ll just be updating the current flyer with the new
information. I should have it up there as soon as possible.

The Trekker Newsletter (www.trekkernewsletter.com) reported a week ago
that William Shatner gave a commencement speech before a crowd of
approximately 1,350 graduates of William Woods College on May 6, 2001.
The main focus of the speech was to ask to bring their “passion and
sense of ethics” to the world, whether it would be personal or
professional.

For all Trek and BBK fans in Canada, be on the lookout for a BBK website
forthcoming. More information will be provided as the site develops!

In the meantime, if you are interested in doing a website for your
country, please contact us at: offic-@bringbackkirk.com. Or if you
have already constructed a page or site in support of the effort, feel
free to contact us: we’ll evaluate it, and link to it!

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BRING BACK KIRK CD
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The Bring Back Kirk campaign is currently undergoing research and
pre-development of a computer data CD with promotional items and
information for the effort. Right now, we are looking for suggestions of
what YOU, our reader and supporter, think should be included on such a
promotional CD. Items to be on the CD itself will be:

- All versions and formats of our critically acclaimed trailers.
- All shareware versions of media players, such as RealPlayer Basic
and/or Windows Media Player.
- Generic BBK flyers, without the date-sensitive material (meaning no
schedules).
- Information, FAQs, addresses, et cetera.
- Bookmarks for all current Bring Back Kirk websites and supporting
websites – for those who do or will have access to the net, or have
access at certain times.

This CD, because of all the materials involved, will cost money and is
targeted mainly for those who lack Internet access -- but not access to
a computer. (Computers with a CD-ROM drive are required.) We are still
trying to determine an exact price for all the materials involved (NOT
including shipping and handling charges), but here is a VERY ROUGH
estimate of what everything will cost:

- $5.00 U.S. for Black and White version (meaning all CD materials:
inserts, labels, ink will be monochrome.)
- $8.00 U.S. for Color (all CD inserts, labels, ink will be in color)

Content located on the CDs will be exactly the same, though the color
ink will just drive up the cost a bit more from the looks of the
estimates.

Of course, as was stated above, we are looking for people to pitch
suggestions to us. So if you have any suggestions, please send them on
to: offic-@bringbackkirk.com.

Also, if you are interested in getting the CD and wish to be placed down
on a list, simply send your full name and email address to:
offic-@bringbackkirk.com as well.

Information will be placed on the website as soon as details are further
defined.

I promise we’ll get back to our “countdown” of Trek and science-fiction
magazines, but you’ll understand pretty quickly why I chose to discuss
something else this issue, I’m sure.

As most of you probably already know, Paramount ended about two years of
rumors and speculation by announcing last week that the next Star Trek
series will be named Enterprise. For a long time, The Powers That Be
denied the “rumor” that the new show would be similar in premise to a
video game called Birth of the Federation that enabled the player to
take part in the early days of Starfleet. Well, it’s now very certain
that the fifth Trek will take place 100 years before the days of Kirk
and Spock as humanity first reaches out to the stars.

During a number of interviews, Rick Berman (the grand high exalted
poobah of all things Trek) dropped hints that the new show would be
significantly different from the previous series, so much so that he
wondered whether it would still be appropriate to have the words “Star
Trek” in the title. As it has apparently turned out, Enterprise will
still take place in the Trek universe–just a couple of centuries earlier
than the other spinoffs.

Most of you will also recall that Berman and Brannon Braga (Do I really
need to explain who he is?) have been toiling away behind the scenes for
a long time on the new show. I remember that there was supposed to be a
big announcement back in February of 2000, which of course never
materialized. There were rumors that the new show was to be aired during
Voyager’s final season. That never happened, either. Time continued to
pass with no new show, but we were assured that they were still refining
and polishing the shiny new concept. So what did they come up with after
all that effort and struggle?

About a month and a half ago, a casting sheet supposedly containing
descriptions of the new series’ crew turned up in several places on the
Internet. At first, I wasn’t sure if this wasn’t some hoax perpetrated
to keep us busy while the real show was being put together using an
entirely different concept, but the recent official information has
confirmed a lot of what was in that casting sheet, which I find (pardon
the expression) fascinating.

The captain of the new (or old) Enterprise is Jonathan Archer, whose
first name was originally listed as Jackson. He’s to be a physical
character with a “bold personality.” The description goes on to say that
“although he has a strong sense of duty, he’s a bit of a renegade–he’s
not afraid to question orders or even disobey them if he feels in his
gut that he’s right.”

Now where have we seen THAT before? Could it be a previous Trek captain
whose initials are James T. Kirk?

Let’s go down the list further. It seems that Archer’s first officer is,
of all things, a Vulcan! Her name is Sub-Commander T’Pal (which was
recently changed from T’Pau to avoid confusion with the woman who
presided over Spock’s marriage in “Amok Time”). She also serves as the
ship’s science officer (Imagine that!), and she considers humans to be
primitive and irrational. Sounds to me like Mister Spock has undergone a
gender change...

The new chief engineer’s name is Charlie “Spike” Tucker, and he’s a
“Southerner who enjoys using his ‘country’ persona to disarm people.”
However, Tucker “has very little first-hand experience with alien
cultures, and he’s often a ‘fish out of water’ when dealing with new
civilizations.” Someone check the Transporter Room! Looks like McCoy and
Scotty have been caught in one HECK of a malfunction!

Also, the new helmsman is Joe Mayweather, an African-American male,
while the new communications officer is Hosi Sato, an Asian female. Now,
if we were to switch their ethnic backgrounds, I suspect we’d have two
other, more familiar bridge officers: Sulu and Uhura.

With these similarities in mind, it’s almost refreshing to consider to
new “armory officer,” which is a way of saying security officer without
having him wear a red shirt (I hope). Malcolm Reed is a spit-and-polish
British soldier, so his accent might be something we haven’t heard much
in Trek. Still, if you were to give him a Russian accent instead, might
he end up being Pavel Chekov?

Finally, the most original character in the cast is the doctor, an alien
named Phlox who has an “eccentric sense of humor.” And what does the
casting sheet say he thinks humans are? You guessed it: “fascinating.”

Now, is it just me, or could it be that the folks at the Big P spent all
this time trying to find a way of re-making Classic Trek without having
to re-cast the original crew, something they knew the fans wouldn’t
accept? It also irritates me to think that they may try to diminish
Kirk’s character by saying he got all of his “bold” and “physical”
characteristics by patterning himself after Archer, a character created
35 years after Kirk’s first appearance.

One of the most hopeful signs to me is the fact that they’ve hired Scott
Bakula to portray Captain Archer. (And yes, the “Quantum Trek” jokes
have already started.) Bakula asked for–and eventually got–more creative
control than any of the previous Trek captains, which I hope will have a
positive impact on the new show.

But what does all of this have to do with conventions, you ask? Some
friends who like to lead out on panels at upcoming summer vacations and
I already have one title all worked out: “Star Trek’s New Enterprise.”
And I just can’t wait to hear what they think about the new show and its
“original” cast!

Convention Calendar
If you’re looking for something Trek to do over the Memorial Day
weekend, you might want to check out the Vulkon convention being held
May 25-27 in Atlanta, Georgia. Among the guests will be George Takei
(Sulu) and Robin Curtis (the second Saavik).

All addresses for the persons noted below are below this section of the
newsletter.

DATES: MAY 1st THROUGH JULY 31st

Mark your calendars NOW! :)

Let's make a difference!!!! :)

The best chance that we have is to request Kirk's return via TV movie or
Mini-Series! It CAN be done... Let's let our support be known! It is
important to include the benefits to the studio as well as the fans.
Indicate your enthusiasm for the recent coverage that Kirk has received
with the science fiction media and your appreciation of it! Let them
know that this is the direction in which you wish the writers to head!
Show your spirit! Include why Kirk was and remains IMPORTANT to Trek!

It's a great idea to cc your letters to the other two, which makes each
letter worth three! This opens communication about it between the
different individuals!

ALSO: It could be really useful to cc: Mr. Rick Berman as well.

Mr. Berman has the creative control of STAR TREK at this time, and while
he has not been supportive of Kirk's return, he MAY change his mind
given the popularity of the concept! Make full use of your letters! BE
HEARD!!!!

SEND THEM TO:

“STAR TREK The Magazine” and “The Communicator” as well, in order to
keep the momentum up! Addresses for each are included in each week’s
newsletter!

PLEASE drop an e-mail to: Offic-@bringbackkirk.com and let us know
that you've sent a letter and to whom. This way we can keep track of the
number of letters that are going out and evaluate the most effective
direction to head! :-)

Let's get writing and BRING BACK KIRK!!!

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EXECUTIVES/MAGAZINE ADDRESSES
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Listed below are the three primary people who are to be mailed during
the letter-writing phase, as well as a secondary address (for Rick
Berman) that you may use at your own convenience.

All of our flyers have been recently updated to include the new
letter-writing information and the new links for the Newsletter, and are
available in Portuguese-European dialect, German, and English.

Whether you live in the United Kingdom or the United States of America,
there’s one for your country! Download ‘em and distribute them to
friends and at conventions, give one to someone at your workplace, or
maybe give them to someone who wants to know more! Anyway, the key is
distribution -- and downloading them at the following addresses first.
Pick and choose one location to download them at!

Our special thanks go to the Trekker Newsletter for displaying our
official flyers for download.

Again, distribution of these flyers requires ACTIVE CAMPAIGNING, which
includes spreading them around to Trek and sci-fi fan clubs and
conventions -- or wherever else flyers are welcome! Remember: You CAN
make a difference!